Skyview Elementary School students experiment with matter madness

Drops of water spun from a block of ice and flew into the air under the blasting heat of a hairdryer clenched in the fist of a Skyview Elementary School first-grader Wednesday morning.

Jacob Dessert and his four teammates worked together to melt the ice and free the first key they'd need to complete their "matter madness" challenges. The experiment was one many students in Rebekah Biermann's first grade class worked through that morning to demonstrate their knowledge of gases, solids and liquids.

The whole class worked hard to study matter in all its forms, Biermann explained. With time already spent on book and classroom learning, she thought her students would enjoy getting hands-on to test their education.

Getting to experiment and learn through doing is more fun, said Jacob as he watched his group's experiment.

“As the students worked through each experiment

— especially the baking soda and vinegar balloon inflation

— laughter and gasps filled the room.

Recommended Stories For You

"I get to learn something new," said Alexis Haring about the experiments while she helped fill a balloon with gases created by mixing baking soda and vinegar.

Other students in her group agreed, nodding their heads before ducking away from the table when the baking soda-vinegar starting rapidly expanding. Skyview Principal Tammy Seib laughed and asked the students why they hid and left her alone with experiment's balloon.

Scattered around the school's library, each group of students had an adult help them perform the same experiments. The supervising adults peppered in questions about matter and its forms. Most of the time students had answers quick and at the ready, though every once in a while they had to work together and think about it.

As the students worked through each experiment — especially the baking soda and vinegar balloon inflation — laughter and gasps filled the room.